Cybozu Newcomer Ruins VP's SNS Profile
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What happened?
In June 2019, four new employees of the Marketing Division responded to the Twitter profile of Osamu Yamada, then Executive Vice President of Cybozu, with "Isn't that old? The icon smells like the Showa period," and "Do you want to talk about our club activities (baseball club)? The four new employees pointed out on the company's groupware that Ms. Hara's Twitter profile was "old," "The icon smells like 'Showa'" and "Do you want to talk about club activities (baseball club)? The new employees accepted the suggestions and asked the new employees to "produce" the profile improvements, which were then made public. (Cybozu style)
What exactly did you change?
Set a cover image, replace the icon, simplify the profile text to focus on the title and current position, and optimize the account name (e.g., "Osamu/ Osamu Yamada @ Cybozu"). The exchange was also made public on Twitter, and the fact that the proposed improvements were adopted as is became a topic of discussion. (AbemaTimes, BUZZmag)
When did this happen?
Initial tweet: June 5, 2019 ("Newcomer has been ruining it... and I'm leaving it to you.")
Production application and release: June 11, 2019
MEDIAIZATION: ABEMA reported "tripling followers" on June 17, 2019, and Cybozu Shiki published an article and interview on October 29, 2019. (BUZZmag, AbemaTimes, Cybozu Shiki)
Reaction/effectiveness (quantitative)
Followers: approx. 1,200 → over 2,100 (increased overnight/over a few days) → then over 4,300 (internal article as of October 2019).
Impressions: over 2 million in the month of improvement.
Profile views: 100 times more than the previous month. (BUZZmag, [Cybozu formula https://cybozushiki.cybozu.co.jp/articles/m005492.html ])
Company's perception (cultural background)
Mr. Yamada stated, "I'm new, so I don't have any resistance. I learn from those in the know," and clearly stated his stance of emphasizing what to say rather than who to say. He recalled that the new employees "accepted me with open arms. (Cybozu-style)
At Cybozu, the incident is discussed in the context of psychological safety, where objections are openly raised, and is sometimes presented as a symbolic example along with the company's famous "earphone incident". (Cybozu-style)
Summary (key points)
A virtuous cycle of newcomers' frank suggestions → openly adopted by management → immediate results (visible numbers).
It also suggests that it is effective from a branding perspective to focus on "who you are now" in your writing.
This is an example of how flatness and transparency as an organizational culture has simultaneously improved external communication and internal learning.
(Main sources: Cybozu Shiki 2019/10/29, ABEMA TIMES 2019/6/17, summary of tweets at the time) (Cybozu Shiki, AbemaTimes, BUZZmag)
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